Greetings Beloved of the Lord!
After recently watching Lou Giglio’s ‘How Great Is Our God’ video for the umpteenth time (Yes, it is that good!! see info below to watch or buy), I was again awed at how the God who spoke the world into existence, breathed out stars and named them all, not only created you and I in our uniqueness but also desires to meet our needs and have an intimate relationship (thru ongoing communion) with each of us. Doesn’t that just blow you away? When you listen and watch the video, you begin to get a feel for the vastness of our God and your smallness, yet you walk away with the incredible knowledge that Almighty God cares about every detail of your life.
Nahum 1:7 - The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.
1 Peter 5:7- Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.
Psalm 138:8- The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
During the Thanksgiving holidays, I was contemplating this message once again, when I discovered a gecko (like the little lizard that advertises Geico insurance) had found a warm resting place on my car door. I gently opened the door not to frighten him (more truthfully not to frighten myself if he chose to jump in my direction- LOL) and started my car. I was successful in not frightening him because he decided he would have a better view (I suppose) from my driver side rear-view mirror. I assumed he would jump off any moment as I crept down the driveway but unfortunately he did not; nor was he aware of the ride of his life he was about to take. You see, I am known to have a lead foot on occasion, and I was running a bit late so when I hit the highway I took off reaching 50 miles an hour in a flash. To my surprise, the precious little gecko still perched on the rear-view mirror was holding on for dear life. Get this picture in your mind, a gecko with it’s face to the wind holding on with all it might and me looking at this little creature thinking the wind is gonna take him out at any second! Know what happened next? Yep, you guessed it, once he turned his head toward me, as if to say HELP!, I had such compassion on this little tenacious creature that I pulled off the road and over next to some low hanging limbs so he could jump off safely and he DID!!!! As I drove away, I wondered; if I being a carnal man can have compassion on a lizard, who I didn’t create, don’t know, never met his family and know absolutely no details about his life, then how much more must Almighty God, Elohim, The Everlasting Father look on us, His creation made in His image and adopted as children thru Jesus Christ, with compassion and mercy!
Have you ever found yourself in a place like this lizard? It looked like an interesting, perfectly harmless place but later you found yourself facing storm winds that caused you to have to hang on with all your might just to survive? You feel as if at any second you are going to lose your grip and end up splattered or in a broken heap. I have good news for you - God sees, knows and cares! He is El Roi, the God who sees you, knows you and the One who provides comfort, support and hope. (Gen. 16:13, Ex. 3:7) God’s compassion and mercy exceeds all that we could ever imagine. It has been revealed and extended to us thru the cross of Jesus Christ. It’s like having a bank account full of funds but if we never make a withdrawal, we will never benefit from those monies. The compassion, mercy and grace of God has been made available to you through Jesus and you are given the privilege and access to them by repenting, asking for and receiving what’s been placed in an account just for you.
What do think would have happened to ‘my’ gecko had I chosen not had mercy and compassion on him? Yep, he would have ended up a wet streak in the highway or at the very least broken and hurting. So goes you and me, if we fail to receive the mercy, compassion and grace of our Father through Jesus Christ and the cross. Furthermore, so goes others when we fail to extend the compassion and mercy of God to them. God’s plan for us includes not only receiving His mercy but giving it to others! Freely you have received, freely give.
Luke 7:47 - Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven , the same loveth little.
Now, I could have thought to myself, ‘well little lizard that’s what you get for being in such a place’, or I could have been indifferent to his plight or ignored his situation completely. Thankfully God never takes that approach with us – He cares, He hears and He responds to those who call upon His name! I like Beth Moore’s writings in ‘Get Out of The Pit’ where she states that when we cry out to God from our ‘pit’, He doesn’t ask ‘how did you get in the pit?’ before He responds to our cries!
Ps. 40:1-5 - I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. 4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
It does not matter if you ended up in your situation because you fell into the pit, got pushed by someone or jumped – God will hear your cries to Him and have mercy on you. So no matter how you ended up on someone’s rear-view mirror holding on for dear life, you can turn to the Lord Jesus, cry out to the God of mercy and compassion to rescue you, He will hear and answer. He gives grace (supernatural empowerment) to the humble (those who cry out). Let me encourage you today, no matter where you find yourself or what you are facing, turn to Our Great God who is full of compassion and mercy.
Lou Giglio ‘How Great is Our God’ excerpt: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6AB5IvogHc&feature=related)
Purchase video: (http://www.christianbook.com/great-our-god-louie-giglio/pd/106744?item_code=WW&netp_id=637119&event=ESRCN&view=details or http://www.lifeway.com/product/005254607/)
